Crane Crash Raises Inspection Concerns

NEW YORK CITY-One person remains missing more than a day after a construction crane crashed down in Manhattan’s East Side Saturday, at East 51st St. and Second Ave., killing six construction workers, injuring dozens and damaging six buildings. Officials were investigating whether human or mechanical error led to the construction-site accident. The cleanup is expected to take several days.

Construction workers Brad Cohen, Aaron Stephens, Anthony Mazza, and Wayne Bleinder were killed in the accident. Police also recently revealed that two construction workers at the site, but officials have no yet publicly identified the bodies.

In a press conference, Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the collapse one of the worst construction accidents in the city’s history. He acknowledged the danger of high-rise construction, but said residents near cranes were generally safe, citing that “this is a rare occurrence.”